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2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season (AGCK)
The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season was a below average season, with only 8 named storms forming; however, this season contained two category 5 hurricanes. This season was initially predicted to be near average to slightly above average despite a Moderate El Nino Event in the Eastern Pacific; however, this season was found to be extremely inactive, with only 8 out of the 9 tropical depressions being named. This season brought some devastation to the Caribbean and along the Eastern Coast; the first storm to impact land in the season was Hurricane Alex in Early May, peaking as an 80 mph category 1 hurricane at landfall; which initially caused devastation to northwestern Florida, as Alex brought slick roads which caused cars to crash into many stores and powerlines, causing power outages and death; especially the floodwaters that risen when it got electrified caused many deaths. Alex overall caused 93 deaths; which is only a quarter to an eighth of the season's fatalities. The next storm to make landfall would be Colin; a tropical storm that formed unusually north, where it later made landfall in Delaware; impacts were initially minor as Colin was a fast-moving tropical storm, moving out of the state only 18 hours after landfall. Then, Danielle was a classic Cape-Verde hurricane going in the Caribbean in late July; it later made landfall in Nicraugua at 170 miles per hour, causing catastrophic damage and over 2,000 deaths, where it later crossed into the Eastern Pacific and was named Jimena; it was a category 1 and managed to travel past the two basins before dying out just before entering the Western Pacific basin. Then, Earl took the classic Cape-Verde track along the East Coast, curving straight before it hit the tip of Virginia Beach at weak category 3 intensity, becoming the first major hurricane landfall along the East Coast since Wilma of 2005; it initially caused moderate impacts which included high tide and flooding, and high surf which caused 6 deaths alone with people trying to surf the waves; the tide reached a peak of about 15 feet before Earl exited the state. Fiona took the classic Caribbean track to the north of where Danielle was; reaching 160mph briefly before making landfall in the Yucatan at 145mph; which caused many landslides and flooding, but very few deaths due to the prepared warnings after Danielle struck; Fiona then reached the Bay of Campeche as a 125mph category 3 hurricane before making landfall just to the north of Veracruz; causing the same impacts as in the Yucatan; however there were more deaths due to the unpreparedness. The last notable storm to make landfall was Hermine, which took an unusual, erratic track to the north of Cape Verde; despite this it was not long lived; and it later made landfall in the Azores at 100mph, becoming one of the worst hurricanes to make landfall there in history. causing major impacts which caused most of the islands to be washed out by a 14 foot storm surge. Overall, this season was very destructive and it caused many fatalities. Forecasts Post-Season and Mid-Season Many weather forecasters initially believed a near average to an average hurricane season; however this did not happen due to a Moderate El Nino that started in early December; however activity ramped up in early September, but only two storms formed during the month; overall the season ended with a bang in late November; with the last storm being Hermine. Ahead of and during the season, various meteorological agencies forecast how many named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes will form during a season and/or how many tropical cyclones will affect a particular country. These agencies include the Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) Consortium of the University College London, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Colorado State University (CSU). The forecasts include weekly and monthly changes in significant factors that help in determining the number of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes within a particular year. These forecasts do take into consideration what happened in previous seasons, such as the weakening and eventual dissipation of the 2021-22 El Niño event. On average, an Atlantic hurricane season between 1981 and 2010 contained twelve tropical storms, six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes and an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index of 66-103 units. However, hurricane seasons between 2011 and 2025 contained fourteen tropical storms, seven hurricanes, and four major hurricanes and an accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index of 83-119 units. Season Summary May & June The season began with Hurricane Alex which peaked as an 80mph hurricane at landfall in Florida. A previously extratropical cyclone began to retain tropical characteristics by May 19th; however, the NHC started tracking this invest since May 14th. The extratropical cyclone gained the name "Alex" only a few hours later by the NHC; the storm rapidly intensified to 60mph by the next day; due to proximity to land it did not intensify rapidly once more; instead it gradually intensified, reaching hurricane status by May 22nd; where it later peaked at 80mph, before it made landfall in Florida; only weakening to 70mph by the time it exited Florida; it then made a second landfall in South Carolina before it turned extratropical; only lasting one day before being absorbed by another extratropical cyclone. Then, the season started off early with Tropical Storm Bonnie forming, which peaked as a 70mph tropical storm. Bonnie began as an area of disturbed weather along a decaying cold front; the NHC noted this and gave it an initially low chance, however, advisories were unexpectedly initiated on Tropical Storm Bonnie. Bonnie's unexpected formation can be compared to Tropical Depression One-E in 2016; where chances were initially low. Bonnie rapidly intensified, reaching 70mph before it supposedly neared landfall; however, it turned to the northeast before it can hit land. Then, Tropical Storm Colin formed on June 25; which was a low pressure system to the east of North Carolina when disturbed weather began to develop and get organized; eventually it was declared Tropical Depression Three; it remained at this intensity until 00:00UTC on June 26th; where it became Tropical Storm Colin; Colin strengthened to 50mph before it made landfall near Delaware later that day, causing minor damage as it moved out of the state 18 hours later; it then dissipated when it hit the Appalachian Mountains in the late afternoon of June 27th. July July had an awfully late start; with only one storm forming in July overall; the most powerful storm of the season, Danielle. Hurricane Danielle began as a tropical wave that exited Cape Verde; despite cooler waters the wave began to develop and eventually a closed circulation was found in the system, giving it the name Danielle; Danielle steadily intensified, reaching weak category 2 intensity by the time it neared the Leeward Islands; then, as soon as it entered the Caribbean, due to extremely low shear and warm waters of about 90 degrees, rapid intensification began to take place and soon Danielle was a powerful 130mph category 4 hurricane, the first major hurricane of the season, and the first major hurricane since 2019; Danielle then strengthened to 155mph as it passed to the north of South America, refusing to change direction as it headed for a straight path to Nicraugua. Danielle then strengthened to 160mph, becoming the first category 5 since 2018 as rapid strengthening ensued; it reached 180mph later that day on July 27th and reached peak intensity the next day; it later weakened considerably to 175mph before landfall in Nicaragua took place; by the time it was halfway across it was at strong category 3 status; Danielle then weakened to a weak category 2 as it neared the Eastern Pacific; however it downgraded to a 90mph category 1 hurricane as it entered the basin on July 31, still retaining its name of Danielle; Danielle later dissipated on August 3rd after temperatures were not suitable for development and southwestern shear was high. September & October After no activity in August, a big boom of activity near the Main Development Region triggered Hurricane Earl to form. What started out as a not well defined tropical wave began to rapidly develop once it reached the central subtropical Atlantic; the wave then began to move northwest into slightly less favorable temperatures nearing 27-28C, however this did not stop development as the wave was nearing a tropical depression classification; on September 4th, the wave finally became Tropical Depression Five; Earl did not become named until the 5th, however; as Earl began to rapidly intensify as it neared the Bahamas; by September 6th it was a minimal hurricane with 80mph winds, by the 7th it was a 115mph category 3 hurricane; intensification seemed to stop there as Earl began to turn away from the East Coast; Earl managed to maintain intensity until it exited the Gulf Stream on September 8th; it then steadily weakened until it made landfall in Nova Scotia as a category 1 hurricane, causing minimal damage before turning extratropical; the extratropical cyclone persisted for two days before being absorbed by another extratropical cyclone. The second powerful storm of the season, Hurricane Fiona formed after no activity for two-three weeks. An invest formed about 300 miles to the east of the Leeward Islands; the invest began to rapidly organize and show signs of tropical characteristics; it was declared Tropical Storm Fiona upon formation; Fiona began to rapidly strengthen, becoming a 70mph tropical storm only the next day; it then reached hurricane status only 10 minutes before landfall; reaching 75mph; it then weakened to 65mph before it later strengthened to 90mph only the next day; Fiona then began to rapidly intensify due to near ideal conditions for development; it was a category 3 hurricane by the next day; it then reached 130mph, becoming the second most powerful hurricane of the season; Fiona reached 150mph before considerable weakening took place, weakening to 125mph after an eyewall replacement cycle; however it regained intensity and reached a new peak intensity of 160mph and 917mbar before it passed only 20 miles to the north of the Yucatan Peninsula; which brought major hurricane force winds; Fiona then steadily weakened and deaccelerated due to unusually low temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico; models forecast it to turn to Texas and make landfall there as a borderline category 1 or 2 hurricane; instead it traveled near Louisiana and looped and moved to the southwest, where it considerably strengthened to 125mph before it made landfall on Veracruz, causing major damage as it rapidly weakened inland, dissipating by the next day. In mid October, a tropical low formed to the southeast of Bermuda; the low would eventually become Tropical Storm Gaston began to strengthen as it showed banding and eventually they identified a closed circulation in the system, becoming Tropical Depression Seven as it began to slowly intensify; by October 17th, it became Tropical Storm Gaston; initially temperatures were forecast to be somewhat conductive for development. By the 19th it initially reached its peak intensity of 60mph before it succumbed to unfavorable temperatures and high shear unexpectedly. It rapidly weakened and dissipated by October 20th, without making any impact; however, one indirect death was when a swimmer in Maine got swept out to sea due to rip currents. The Halloween depression, Tropical Depression Eight had minor impacts on Cape Verde. Just before Halloween, a tropical wave exited the coast of Africa and almost immediately it began to have bursts of convection blowups, and eventually only 18 hours after exiting the coast of Africa, it was declared Tropical Depression Eight on October 30th; only 70 miles to the SE of Cape Verde; initially models predicted this to be a moderate tropical storm of winds between 50 and 60 miles per hour; however on Halloween an upper-level low formed to the south of it; initially making it move northwest at about 20 to 30 miles per hour; the wave then entered dry air and somewhat favorable temperatures right after making landfall in Cape Verde, persisting for only one more day before dying out about 100 miles north of Cape Verde. November November was initially quiet until a late season tropical wave exited the coast of Africa that would become Hurricane Hermine exited on November 14th; initially no development was expected with this tropical wave as it traveled through somewhat favorable temperatures; however it was briefly brought up by the NHC and only had chances of 20% before it began to disorganize; later it passed to the north of the Caribbean as chances steadily increased, with advisories eventually being initiated on Tropical Storm Hermine due to 45mph level winds found in the system; initially the storm was not predicted to go past 70 miles per hour; however as it was passing through the Bahamas high sea temperatures and very little vertical shear let rapid intensification of 105 miles per hour; however a ridge was pushing to the east caused Hermine to move rapidly to the northeast, moving to the Azores, while still maintaining peak intensity; later it slowed down as it made landfall on the Azores with 100 miles per hour winds, where it later steadily weakened, passing barely to the north of the Canary Islands and paralleling the coast of Spain before turning extratropical. Timeline ImageSize = width:700 height:225 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:190 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/05/2022 till:01/01/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/05/2022 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_<39_mph id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39-73_mph id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74-95_mph id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96-110_mph id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111-129_mph id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130-156_mph id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_≥_157_mph Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:19/05/2022 till:24/05/2022 color:C1 text:Alex from:05/06/2022 till:10/06/2022 color:TS text:Bonnie from:25/06/2022 till:27/06/2022 color:TS text:Colin from:20/07/2022 till:31/07/2022 color:C5 text:Danielle from:04/09/2022 till:10/09/2022 color:C3 text:Earl from:24/09/2022 till:04/10/2022 color:C5 text:Fiona from:16/10/2022 till:20/10/2022 color:TS text:Gaston from:30/10/2022 till:02/11/2022 color:TD text:Eight from:20/11/2022 till:27/11/2022 color:C2 text:Hermine bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/05/2022 till:01/06/2022 text:May from:01/06/2022 till:01/07/2022 text:June from:01/07/2022 till:01/08/2022 text:July from:01/08/2022 till:01/09/2022 text:August from:01/09/2022 till:01/10/2022 text:September from:01/10/2022 till:01/11/2022 text:October from:01/11/2022 till:01/12/2022 text:November from:01/12/2022 till:01/01/2023 text:December TextData = pos:(400,30) text:"(From the" pos:(447,30) text:"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)" Storms Hurricane Alex Tropical Storm Bonnie Tropical Storm Colin Hurricane Danielle Hurricane Earl Hurricane Fiona Category:AGirlCalledKeranique Category:Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes